Tim had so often replayed his abortive confession to Father Davett that he could now recite his own part from memory. But Father LeTour seemed to be working from a different script, or none at all. To each admission that emerged from Tim’s lips, the priest replied, merely, Mmm-hmm.
“I intend to stop. I have stopped.”
“Mmm-hmm.”
“But I can’t say ‘I’m sorry.’ I can’t give that to God. It’s too much. I’ve already returned to Him the best gift He ever gave me.”
Father LeTour at last came to soft-spoken life. “And what was that?”
“The man I loved.”